The Songs Of 2007

2007 itself was really crappy in music. Obviously I didn’t ignore music this year, I just wasn’t tapped into current music when most of the music that hooked me was released before 2007, which made my pre-lists very rich. So, although it wasn’t so hard to know which artists and songs would make it, it was hard for me to restrict them to only ten songs; then I decided to do a top 20. Last year I divided the list in fields but now I’m just too lazy for that and just separated them in two: the first part with brief comments and the second with longer and more elaborated ones. There are ties, which yeah ho was a way for me to shove more songs into the list; but what can I do, I dig on ‘em!

I have Samba and a lot of Indie stuff here, like a Canadian belle with the smoothest of voices, an androgynous Brit with one of the most wonderful voices and a filmstar turned rockstar with a fun-to-hear voice; alongside with the good’ol’ mainstream Pop. Dance music makes itself very present with a firmed G-d and a new Diva [to me], and a new G-d is raised on my altar, even though she’s not so keen on G-d.

The Bubbling-Under:
20. "Like A Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae
The song of lonely moments...
19. "Crippled And The Starfish" by Antony And The Johnsons
I have pleasure to say I’ve seen him playing it live!!!
18. "Tema de Não Quero Ver Você Triste" by Erasmo Carlos e Marisa Monte
One of the most romantic songs you will ever hear.
17. "20 Year Old Lover" by Juliette And The Licks
The monologue by the end makes me cum a million cums.
16. "Ever Fallen In Love" by Nouvelle Vague
Foreign Bossa Nova/Samba – you can be sure I’ll gladly listen.
15. "Amado" by Vanessa Da Mata
One of the most romantic songs you will ever hear – part deux.
14. "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)" by Britney Spears
Delicious self-indulgent songs from Tinseltown’s ex-Pop Princess and now promising stripper. YAAAAY!! And LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!!!
13. "Divine Gosa" by Bonde Do Rolê
Crazy and funny lyrics combined with Carioca funk and Eletronic and Rock elements. Count me in!!
12. "Os Novos Yorkinos" by Bebel Gilberto
Me and my friends’ theme. We turn this small shitty town [Conquista] into New York.
11. "Don’t Look Back" by Télépopmusik
A perfect trip hop love song. Angela McCluskey’s voice is beyond lovely.

Top 10:

10. "Don’t Stop The Music" by Rihanna
I still think her voice is awful, but man, what awesome music this woman made this year!! From the Micheal Jackson sample to the exciting background claps.
- "Friday Night" by Lily Allen
Allen’s drunken nights and fights in clubs really made my fun early in the year.

9. "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
Early in the year this was a fever, I loved it to death; now it bores me. But I chose it to the top 10 because it’s a good picture of this decade’s culture. I mean, it was released last year but it was still all over the place in early 2007; but now, it feels like it’s a hundred years old. Things are very ephemeral lately; every week is a new technology, a new fashion, the best rock band of all times… kinda boring right?

8. "HeadTurner" by Joss Stone
The songs from Stone's third album swayed my early year; HeadTurner, the slut song – as the ho and I call it, - is my favorite from the album, because it makes me feel like a natural ho. Another song from her album that made me cum this year was Bruised But Not Broken – but I chose “Turner” instead because of the not depressive tone.

7. "Wuthering Heights" by The Puppini Sisters
The Puppini Sisters were my ultimate gay delight… okay there was Rihanna, but you know what I mean: three beautiful women playing vintage music and wearing 1930’s looks – and one of them is Italian, hello!!
Playing Jazzed Pop hits they are all I love about artists: fun, competent and poser. And the things they did to the songs are wonderful, listen to their I Will Survive and The Smiths’s Panic. But to feature here is their mesmerizing version of Kate Bush’s classic, Wuthering Heights. The harmonized vocals, the theatrical performance, the arrangements make me shudder with excitement as I behold delicious reinventions.

6. "Hands On Me" by Vanessa Carlton
I’ve always loved Nessa Carlton and suddenly one day I woke up with this song’s demo version on my mind and remembered her third album was to be released. The album was reviewed here a while ago, but this is definitely my favorite song.
It's so romantic in a kind of bitter way, having a Carlton singing about an obsessive behavior towards a romance. Sounds familiar? Lol.
There they go climbing Tibetan mountains and crossing deep oceans, when they actually never met yet. And in the end when you think it's obsession enough, she goes and begs “just put your hands on me!” This desperation is both sweet and funny; and considering how Carlton has always been very centered on her love songs, I can't help loving such sarcasm.

5. "One Evening" by Feist
“When we started, both brokenhearted. Not believing, could begin and end in one evening.” Isn’t it the dream of everyone who ventures in dates and one-night-stands? The delicious thing of the song, however, is the fact she keeps herself very grounded on the following verses.

Feist became an instant sensation on my playlists; the same happened with Saint Etienne last year and Feist’s folk quality brings a sort of cynical Indie aura to me. The whole Indie movement is kind of a bore, especially because most Indies think they’re better than anyone because they love unmainstreamed things [even if they’re now the mainstream]. But Feist is thrilling with her soothing voice and wonderful way of arranging music. She’s nomed as Best New Artist from the Grammies, for this year’s The Reminder; but her solo career start is dated from 1999… that was so Indie of me. *hehehe*

4. "Belo Estranho Dia De Amanhã" by Roberta Sá
Although she's the only Brazilian Music representative on the top 10, for a period this year I have been addicted to samba and MPB. Roberta Sá was the main star of that phase; early in the year I got addicted to her first album and a while later her sophomore was released and what a marvel it is.
Bringing samba to a closer and more modern reality, on the Que Belo Estranho Dia Pra Se Ter Alegria album she proved herself as an exquisite performer and musician by showing she knows how to choose a repertoire. In both of her albums she sang songs by unknown artists releasing new composers on the market, or songs by already firmed writers but that are so rare that are practically new.
The song I chose is a delicious love song about forgetting all life’s troubles and stress and tapping to the simple and serene side of everything. By listening to it I long for such a love, one that makes me smile; better yet, it brings me hope that one day it’ll come along.

3. "In My Arms" by Kylie Minogue
The other day the ho and I came to the conclusion that we were never let down by Miss Minogue. Ever since I became a fan there was nothing from this woman’s creative and delicious mind that made me stick up my nose.
This year, after a delightful treat with White Diamond and the Showgirl Homecoming we had the excitement of having leaked some tracks from the new studio album. In My Arms came to me like a thunderbolt full of joy and hope. No longer kicking depression with dancing, this time she was coming filled with self-assurance and happiness.
Although it’s become tacky [but still is very common] mentioning her cancer every time she’s the subject, I can’t help saying that probably what she went through put her in a happier line in what it comes to her lyrics. Another track from her latest album, The One, is beyond romantic but in the end she goes and says “I’m the one, love me”, instead of “why’d you leave to find yourself, I can’t dance with no one else.”
Kylie’s top 5:
a. In My Arms
b. Please Stay
c. The One
d. Sensitized
e. Disco Down

2. "Today The Sun’s On Us" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
One morning in Salvador I woke up with Murder On The Dancefloor pumping into my head and had an epiphany: “hey, I don’t know much about Sophie Ellis-Bextor!” Nah it was not so theatrical, I simply got up and decided to download her discography after I saw a comment about Catch You on a blog. From the moment I started listening to her music and studying her career I knew I was a fool for having neglected such wonderful and genius artist.
With elaborate and joyous beats Ellis-Bextor has a Minogue quality when she comes with dark lyrics combined with ingenious dance hooks and layers [give a try on Move This Mountain from her debut album, or The Walls Keep Saying Your Name from her sophomore]. But when she gets optimistic as in Today The Sun's On Us she's heartwarming and bright. I lost track of how many times this song lifted me up from depressive moods and dark times.
Sophie’s top 5:
a. Today’s The Sun’s On Us
b. If I Can’t Dance
c. The Walls Keep Saying Your Name
d. I Won’t Change You
e. New York City Lights

1. "Wanderlust" by Björk
Despite the fact that she’s the most ubiquitous artist of my year [just check out my last.fm] and that this was the year I became a die-hard fan, it’s this track from her latest studio effort, Volta, that best defines my life and behavior in 2007. I last year moved to Conquista in the high hopes to move to Salvador; and after six unhappy months in Salvador I returned to Conquista. And engaging myself in planed or last-hour trips I’ve come to know places and have a bunch of experiences that fulfilled me in ways that were very new to me.
This song, with its sometimes scary brass section became a hymn to my new desire during my trip to Rio de Janeiro. Sometimes putting comfort aside and following intuition, I’ve come to see and feel things that pushed my own nature and brought self-awareness and reinvention. This song is definitely the best way to describe a fully colourful 2007.
Björk’s top 6*:
a. Wanderlust
b. Bachelorette
c. Unravel
d. Isobel
e. Possibly Maybe
f. Dull Flame Of Desire [with Antony]
*because I couldn’t help it.

Honorable [very late] mentions:
- Once Soundtrack
The one movie this year that touched me to the core. Every and each song of its soundtrack makes me teary eyed, but indisputably romantically hopeful. Highlights are: Falling Slowly, When Your Mind’s Made Up and Lies.
- "No One" by Alicia Keys
For me “No One” felt like a one-day wonder, one morning more specifically.
- "What Goes Around… Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake
Justin “Hot” Timberlake was very present early in March – but what comes around…
- "Thinking About You" by Norah Jones
Somehow she’s always around during my year.
- "Lenda" by CéU
Genius experimental Brazilian music. CéU has the voice of an angel combined with fierceness of a woman not afraid to try new things.
- "Grace Kelly" by Mika
Alright, he is beyond annoying now, but I really enjoyed him back in May.

The Songs Of 2005
The Songs Of 2006

The Songs Of 2006

[Note: I'm setting an official date to my annual list - the last Thursday before Christmas. Why? Who the hell cares...]

In the second half of the year all I could think about was this list. I was both excited and apprehensive to do it, especially because 2006 was a crappy year in music. Practically nothing good was released on Pop music, having some major disappointments that made me cling to the oldies or other music styles such as Jazz and Dance. 2006 was the affirmation of Kylie as my G-d, Madonna spoiled us with two live masterpieces and the mainstream come-back of an artist that I love dearly. No more rambling, let’s get to it.

- Top 10

10. "Stars Are Blind" by Paris Hilton

I always loved Hilton, she’s one of those quirky and eccentric things on celebrity world that you simply can’t ignore, even if it’s for her shallowness; this year she released her music debut album. When “Stars” hit my ears I instantly loved it! It’s cute, fun and catchy; who cares if she can’t sing and has computer made up voice? She’s fun dude!

09. "Music Sounds Better With You" by Stardust

I’m not much of a clubber, but I LOVE club music. “Music Sounds Better With You” has a strong and poignant identity that makes you dance and happy whenever you listen to it. During my last days in Marilia I listened to it repeatedly… there was even a weekend it was played from Friday to Monday non-stop!

08. "Every Time We Say Good Bye" by Ella Fitzgerald

Everyone knows my love for Cole Porter and Ella. This song is just beautiful and uhg, that Ella woman knew how to make us cry with her voice.

07. "Me Pregunto" by Belanova

Thanks to the ho I know Belanova and this was my walk-song during most of the first semester. Besides, there's a cute naivité and freshness to Denisse's voice you can't help falling in love.

06. "Aganjú" by Bebel Gilberto

In my search and desire for music to fill the lack of decent new stuff I found out Bebel Gilberto, a Brazilian like me that I ignored for a long time. Bebel does electronic bossa like no one will ever do. Her voice is sweet, calm and brings light and smiles no matter how sad the lyrics are. "Aganjú" is a huge song in a minimalist disguise: everything works both together and separated and boy how it hooks in you! One can’t not love that percussion.

05. "Peach Trees" by Rufus Wainwright

Every year I catch myself asking the same question about some artists: “how could I have lived so long without this one?” Rufus Wainwright came into my life for good after obsessing with Prime’s soundtrack. However, “Peach Trees” isn’t just a love song, it’s the perfect description of a part of Lucas for the last seven months at least. Besides, Rufus is a genius and a hottie.

04. "Lightning Strikes Twice" by Saint Etienne

The last entry of the year is so damn powerful that surpassed many contenders and made it easily to my top 5. I apologize for the ho for not paying attention to Etienne when he told me to, now I just can’t get enough. “Lightning” is a piece of indie dance music with haunting bass and darkish lyrics sweetened up by Sarah Cracknell’s vocals that make everything beyond lovely. Hosie, this is our macumba song.

Bronze: "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland

Sometimes I wonder if this was recorded by PCD I would have loved it so much; but, I know those strippers would never have the word “chivalry” in a song. However, it’s not only that that makes me love “Promiscuous”, it’s not only its sass and infectious beats, the gorgeous chorus and the genius production. You know I’m a sucker for reinventions and Nelly Furtado did her come back with classy and stylish sexiness: she talked about sex but maintaining her usual clever lexicon, she showed skin but if you check out photo shoots you will not find Britney Spears and the best part, she made the return to her hip hop roots delightful and listenable: there are not a million “featurings” and she gave a couture and retro feeling to every little song of her album. It’s chic, hip and above everything fun.

Top 5:

1. Promiscuous [featuring Timbaland]

2. Maneater

3. What I Wanted

4. Let My Hair Down
5. No Hay Igual

Silver: "Erotica/You Thrill Me" by Madonna

One of my funniest memories of this song is that the day it leaked, on the verge of The Confessions Tour, I gave a little look at the online people on my MSN and 70% of them were playing it. It became a fever!! Not only the Madgers but even the normal people loved it and obsessed about it. And it’s perfectly understandable; anyway, who knows Madonna’s Erotica knows this remix is a cumming what's the word… reinvention! The new synths and beats are completely different from the original plus Madonna uses the original and previously discarded “You Thrill Me” that happens to be Erotica’s demo version [for the sinners that didn’t know that]. Erotica that originally is a dark and haunting song became lightful and cheerful with a new and exciting sex-appeal: instead of decadent dominatrix, kinky and horny girl. And you know what I think about those kinky and horny!

Top 5:

1. Erotica/You Thrill Me

2. Get Together

3. Forbidden Love

4. Jump
5. Your Honesty

Gold: "Dangerous Game" by Kylie Minogue

If you run through this year’s posts you will find Kylie Minogue in most of them, especially “Dangerous Game”. I won’t talk again about the dramatic performance and context this song belongs and actually there’s not much to be said about it, the lyrics are pretty obvious and the melody is as aching as her performance. But the reasons I chose this to be this year’s gold go beyond my personal impressions of it; anyone who loves music and has a good ear must recognize this song’s power. The instrumentation is full and real, no fake/synth strings, yes poignant percussion and yes cinematic production! “Dangerous Game” is and will forever be a classic to me for those reasons.

Top 5:

1. Dangerous Game

2. Put Yourself In My Place

3. Drunk

4. Some Kind Of Bliss

5. Breathe

- The Showbitch Awards – Top 3 [Here are the live tracks that made me cum-the-most this year.]

1. "Live To Tell" by Madonna at The Confessions Tour – mirror-ed cross… that’s all!

2. "The Crying Game [Ballads Section]" by Kylie Minogue at KylieFever Tour – classic look + cinematic drama + roses! The best medley of all times.

3. "Hand On Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue at The Showgirl Tour – folies + hands + “woo woo woo’s”!!

- The “Simpson Sisters” Award – Top 3 [“hate them, love the song”]

1. "The Beat Of My Heart" by Hilary Duff – this one is mainly Jose’s fault [June 27’s post]! But this song redeems Duff from all her disposable career.

2. "A Public Affair" by Jessica Simpson – I still don't like Jessica but dude this song is adorable! Besides she pays homage to Madge twice: first on the 80’s sonority, the song sounding like Holiday, then on the Sorry-esque video, roller-skates are the new deal!

3. "Deja Vu" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z – this song is simply infectious; it’s not as amazing as Crazy In Love but boy it’s fun! Its soul/R&B retro feeling made me more Beyoncé friendly in spite of her hype.

- The Like A Virgin Award – Top 5 [not necessarily new artists, but new addictions of mine]

1. "Moi… Lolita" by Alizeé – ha! This is HUGE, I absolutely love this song! First it’s a mega dancefloor/pop tune that clings to your head and body and there you go… then there’s Alizeé’s raspery voice and the sexy language! French rocks my socks!

2. "Heartbeat" by Annie – Annie is amazing simply because she’s fun. Her voice is almost inexistent, her lyrics are okay, but her music is beyond cool. Manage to keep yourself stopped while listening to "Heartbeat" and I’ll burry you.

3. "Alala" by Cansei De Ser Sexy – my wannabe song. It’s sassy, funny and dancey; me loves quirky indie pop!

4. "Where Does The Good Go" by Tegan and Sara – I know little about these two [I don’t even know if Tegan is a boy or a girl], but I know I adore this song. It’s been on a Grey’s Anatomy episode and is my break up song [blame Gustavo].

5. "A Perfect Sonnet" by Bright Eyes – I got into this band because of a guy [yes, I have no personality!]. Conor Oberst’s vocals in here are bad and out of tune but he gives great performance to the song’s lyrics, that happens to be one of the most heartbreaking and perfect descriptions of love deception.

Honorable Mentions
"Tout Les Garçons Et Les Filles" by Françoise Hardy – français est ma romance langue!
"The Man That Got Away" by Judy Garland – addicted to it for more than a year, did you really think it wouldn’t be here?
"Este Corazón" by RBD – fine, judge me as you please but I love this. [Uhg, I even did a corny rhyme!]
"Message Personnel" by Isabelle Rupert – Françoise Hardy plus genius performance by a genius actor; Rupert gave the sadness and douleur that not even the song’s author could.

"Set The Fire To The Third Bar" by Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright - A lovely ghost gave it to me and I instantly fell in love with it. A last and on-the-moment addition because my stupid memory forgot how I liked this... ironic.

"All Good Things (Come To An End)" by Nelly Furtado – “Well the dogs were barking at a new moon, whistling a new tune, hoping it would come soon. And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day til the feeling went away. And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and the rain forgot how to bring salvation; the dogs were barking at the new moon, whistling a new tune hoping it would come soon so that they could die”… enough said.

The Songs Of 2005

The Songs Of 2005

I can’t even remember when music started to be one of the greatest parts of my daily life. Everyone who knows me personally, knows I’m always singing something and while all my friends spend their money in clothes, shoes or alcohol, every little penny I get goes to music industry. Despite of hearing more artists than I did in 2004, 2005 was a very homogeneous year as well. During the year, there were months or bimesters I could only hear one artist. From March to May, for example, Natalie Imbruglia reigned on my CD player. Here the list goes:

1. Hung Up (Madonna): Jose will call me a jealous bitch, because he had written the same post on his blog and the first song of his list is the same of mine. But since he knows I’m a Madge freak like him, he’ll understand no other song could occupy this spot of the list. Well, “Hung Up” was the best thing of 2005. After months of anticipation and a short and unexpected period of musical boredom (dark days when music died… to be more specific: when Mariah Carey and J-Lo were everywhere – bitter drama queen moment), “Hung Up” leaked “and everything went from wrong to right”. I was sure Madonna’s new single would knock me down as soon as I heard it, and it did: ask my knees and feet if they are the same after Hung Up’s launch.

PS: This spot actually belongs to the whole Confessions On A Dance Floor album, but since I can’t put an entire album in it, I chose its ambassador: “Hung Up”.

2. Confide In Me (Kylie Minogue): 2005 was the year that I became a Kylie fan. Ironically, the year before I used to loathe her. After Jose and the “Madonna environment” inject Kylie slowly into my veins, I started to look up for more of her. So I knew Spinning Around, The Loco-Motion, etc etc. I Believe In You and Giving You Up had made me Kylie-friendly months before, but when I bought Ultimate Kylie, it was “Confide In Me” that made me lose my mind. For a latin drama queen like me, that string section is heaven.

3. Counting Down The Days (Natalie Imbruglia): This woman swayed the first part of my relationship with Vag. I definitelly became a fan, for I have all of her albums, but what makes me love this woman is the fact that each song written by her fits perfectly in a certain moment of ours. “Counting Down The Days” is rather obvious, but there’s also, Satellite and Come September from the White Lilies Island album. Now, all of her songs make me think of something that is in the past and sound very aged.

4. Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Lindsay Lohan): After Rumors and Over I thought Lindsay’s music career was worthless attention. When I first heard “Confessions Of A Broken Heart”, however, something inside me clicked: “she’s genius!” With simple and kind of obvious lyrics, this song is interesting because it reveals a part of La Lohan that most of us don’t know (or don’t care to know): the deep, heartfelt girl who lives under the celebrity skin. I was always a fan of her movie career, but after this I love everything she does.

5. Humble Me (Norah Jones): Do you know how many times I must’ve heard this song last year? Neither do I. Strangely enough, it stuck into my brains for the entire year! I lost count of the times I caught myself singing or hmm-ing it while I walked around Marilia.

6. Hollaback Girl (Gwen Stefani): I spent an exact year into Gwen Stefani. In 2004, What You Waiting For? and Rich Girl blew my mind, and when I downloaded the whole album, Cool and The Real Thing were the best things of that year aside Madonna, and it (the album) made me not only a Gwen fan, but also, a No Doubt fan. In 2005, in a moment I thought I’d be already out of Gwen, “Hollaback Girl” hit Brazil. I knew it before, of course, but just then it blew my mind. The sassy, fun and misunderstood lyrics are delightful, it’s the beat, nevertheless, that wins. There’s no way I hear Hollaback Girl and don’t shake my ass like a good ho.

7. Don’t Cha Wanna Ride? (Joss Stone): Just because it’s my song with Nathalia. She turned out to be one of my best friends and this song makes me think of her. Besides, it’s fun, unpretencious and cool: as music is supposed to be.

8. Aire (Fey/Mecano): Whether sung by Fey or Ana Torrojan, this song is perfect by its surreal deepness. Jose, firstly, got me into Fey. However, the song sung by her that I loved was “Aire”, so it was just a step for me to become a Mecano admirer.

9. Pieces Of Me (Ashlee Simpson): Ha! This one’s the best! I H-A-T-E-D Ashlee Simpson. For me, she was just someone who was taking the ride of her unbearable sister’s (Jessica Simpson) fame to release an album. Suddenly, “Pieces Of Me” hooked into my mind for almost a week and I decided to finally listen to her music, so I could have basis for criticism. Ha, it bit my ass, because instead of hating it, I loved and now I’m a fan!

10. Over To You Now (Britney Spears): Right after Britney’s marriage I started to refuse her, and don’t even ask why because I don’t know, and don’t care in investigating. But after a whole year ignoring her work I simply couldn’t ignore this song, released as a b-side from the Japanese edit of Someday (I Will Understand). It rapidly entered my and Jose’s Sluts On A Dance Floor playlist and it turned me into a hopeless fan again.

11. Ainda Bem (Vanessa da Mata): This is the first Brazillian artist I become a fan since Sandy and Junior. My father introduced me to Vanessa’s music and at first I didn’t care much, but soon I fell in love with “Ainda Bem” and the Essa Boneca Tem Manual album.

12. Night And Day (Ella Fitzgerald): This one is simple: Cole Porter is genius and Ella Fitzgerald is G-d! “Night And Day” is the song that got me back into Jazz, especially Ella. This song gives me chills up and down my spine, I get butterflies in my stomach when it plays and my heart speeds up. But only Miss Fitzgerald’s version turns me on like that.

13. Screwed (Paris Hilton)/ Bucky Done Gun (M.I.A.)/ Dako É Bom (Tati Quebra Barraco): Just for the sake of being sassy, frivolous and trivial every now and then. Just for the sake of shaking my ass and being a slut whenever I feel like it. Just for the sake of doing whatever I want and listening to whatever I want to.

Others:

14. All I Really Want – Acoustic Version (Alanis Morissette) = …give me butteflies…
15. Better The Devil You Know/Shocked/What Do I Have To Do? (Kylie Minogue) = …3 Dance Music anthems…
16. Lala (Ashlee Simpson) = …sexy and cool…
17. Step Back In Time (Kylie Minogue) = …last tune of the year…
18. Whenever You Feel Like It (Kylie Minogue) = …cute and makes me dance…
19. Do Somethin’ (Britney Spears) = …infectious…
20. Rumors/Over (Lindsay Lohan) = …first is a slut hymn… second is beautiful…
21. Everlasting Love/Twentysomething/But For Now (Jamie Cullum) = …just because Cullum’s damn cute and deserves to be in this list.